Flexible credential supported software service provisioning

ABSTRACT

Techniques for predictive autoscaling and resource optimization of software deployments. In an implementation, users declare performance objectives, and machine learning of application behavior and load profile is used to determine minimum cost resourcing to meet the declared performance objectives. In an embodiment, convergent deployments are monitored and related feedback is provided to improve forecasting, behavior modeling, and resource estimation over time.

BACKGROUND

Capacity planning and cost optimization for software operations areareas of ongoing research and development. Over-provisioning leads toresource waste and extra cost, yet the industry standard is an averageof 80-93% over-provisioned. Under-provisioning causes performancedegradation and violation of SLAs. Research shows that performancedegradation in web applications can result in up to 75% increase inchurn. “Preliminary results . . . of cloud service availability show anaverage of 7.738 hours unavailable per year or 99.91% availability . . .The cost of these failures amounts for almost 285 million USDs based onhourly costs accepted in industry.” Downtime Statistics of Current CloudSolutions (Updated version—March 2014) by Cérin et al.

Manually determining capacity is practically always wrong due to thedynamic nature of resource utilization and application load. Reactiveautoscaling, by definition, fails to meet load ahead of time.Threshold-based auto scaling requires significant work and fails toalign with defined service level objectives even when using customapplication level metrics. At best an 80% utilization threshold resultsin 20% under-capacity. Research shows that threshold-based autoscalersfail to adapt to changing workloads.

Techniques to address these and other deficiencies associated withcapacity planning and cost optimization are desirable.

SUMMARY

Disclosed is a cost and performance management solution for softwareresourcing and scaling. In a specific implementation, the systemoperates on software deployment orchestration platforms such asKubernetes that expose application and resource metrics as well asprovide standard scaling and resourcing mechanisms. Users declareperformance objectives and the system learns application behavior andload profile to determine minimum cost resourcing to meet the declaredperformance objectives.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a diagram of an example of a predictive autoscaling andresource optimization system.

FIG. 2 depicts a graph that compares resource provisioning pursuant tothe recommendations of a reactive recommendation engine with resourceprovisioning pursuant to the recommendations of a predictedrecommendation engine.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a total forecasted load versus total actual loadchart and associated code display.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of an example of a method of predictiveautoscaling and resource optimization.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of an example of generating predictiveautoscaling and resource optimization results in association with amachine learning process.

FIG. 6 depicts a diagram of an example of a system for generatingminimum cost optimization parameters.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 depicts a diagram 100 of an example of a predictive autoscalingand resource optimization system. As used in this paper, resources canbe characterized as central processing unit (CPU), memory, networkinput/output (I/O), disk I/O, graphics processing unit (GPU), and/orother applicable resources. The diagram 100 includes a computer-readablemedium (CRM) 102, a service level agreement (SLA) metric datastore 104coupled to the CRM 102, a feedforward control system for a softwareorchestration platform 106 coupled to the CRM 102, convergentdeployments 122 coupled to the CRM 102, and a load distribution andmetrics engine 124 coupled to the CRM 102. The feedforward controlsystem for a software orchestration platform 106 includes a declarativeperformance interface engine 108, a predictive autoscaling and resourceoptimization operator engine 110, a dynamics estimation engine 112, anapplication load forecasting engine 114, a minimum cost optimizationengine 116, an optimal configuration for scale resources actuator engine118, and a convergent deployment, resource, and application levelmetrics collection engine 120. A predictive autoscaling and resourceoptimization system can be fully implemented; implemented as a stagedintegration (e.g., into a Kubernetes cluster), with customers havingcontrol over whether changes are made live and how much change isallowed; or implemented with a sample of platform data to provide a costsavings and/or performance improvement report.

The CRM 102 is intended to represent a computer system or network ofcomputer systems. A “computer system,” as used herein, may include or beimplemented as a specific purpose computer system for carrying out thefunctionalities described in this paper. In general, a computer systemwill include a processor, memory, non-volatile storage, and aninterface. A typical computer system will usually include at least aprocessor, memory, and a device (e.g., a bus) coupling the memory to theprocessor. The processor can be, for example, a general-purpose centralprocessing unit (CPU), such as a microprocessor, or a special-purposeprocessor, such as a microcontroller.

Memory of a computer system includes, by way of example but notlimitation, random access memory (RAM), such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) andstatic RAM (SRAM). The memory can be local, remote, or distributed.Non-volatile storage is often a magnetic floppy or hard disk, amagnetic-optical disk, an optical disk, a read-only memory (ROM), suchas a CD-ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM, a magnetic or optical card, or anotherform of storage for large amounts of data. During execution of software,some of this data is often written, by a direct memory access process,into memory by way of a bus coupled to non-volatile storage.Non-volatile storage can be local, remote, or distributed, but isoptional because systems can be created with all applicable dataavailable in memory.

Software in a computer system is typically stored in non-volatilestorage. Indeed, for large programs, it may not even be possible tostore the entire program in memory. For software to run, if necessary,it is moved to a computer-readable location appropriate for processing,and for illustrative purposes in this paper, that location is referredto as memory. Even when software is moved to memory for execution, aprocessor will typically make use of hardware registers to store valuesassociated with the software, and a local cache that, ideally, serves tospeed up execution. As used herein, a software program is assumed to bestored at an applicable known or convenient location (from non-volatilestorage to hardware registers) when the software program is referred toas “implemented in a computer-readable storage medium.” A processor isconsidered “configured to execute a program” when at least one valueassociated with the program is stored in a register readable by theprocessor.

In one example of operation, a computer system can be controlled byoperating system software, which is a software program that includes afile management system, such as a disk operating system. One example ofoperating system software with associated file management systemsoftware is the family of operating systems known as Windows fromMicrosoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., and their associated filemanagement systems. Another example of operating system software withits associated file management system software is the Linux operatingsystem and its associated file management system. The file managementsystem is typically stored in the non-volatile storage and causes theprocessor to execute the various acts required by the operating systemto input and output data and to store data in the memory, includingstoring files on the non-volatile storage.

The bus of a computer system can couple a processor to an interface.Interfaces facilitate the coupling of devices and computer systems.Interfaces can be for input and/or output (I/O) devices, modems, ornetworks. I/O devices can include, by way of example but not limitation,a keyboard, a mouse or other pointing device, disk drives, printers, ascanner, and other I/O devices, including a display device. Displaydevices can include, by way of example but not limitation, a cathode raytube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), or some other applicable knownor convenient display device. Modems can include, by way of example butnot limitation, an analog modem, an IDSN modem, a cable modem, and othermodems. Network interfaces can include, by way of example but notlimitation, a token ring interface, a satellite transmission interface(e.g. “direct PC”), or other network interface for coupling a firstcomputer system to a second computer system. An interface can beconsidered part of a device or computer system.

Computer systems can be compatible with or implemented as part of orthrough a cloud-based computing system. As used in this paper, acloud-based computing system is a system that provides virtualizedcomputing resources, software and/or information to client devices. Thecomputing resources, software and/or information can be virtualized bymaintaining centralized services and resources that the edge devices canaccess over a communication interface, such as a network. “Cloud” may bea marketing term and for the purposes of this paper can include any ofthe networks described herein. The cloud-based computing system caninvolve a subscription for services or use a utility pricing model.Users can access the protocols of the cloud-based computing systemthrough a web browser or other container application located on theirclient device.

A computer system can be implemented as an engine, as part of an engine,or through multiple engines. As used in this paper, an engine includesat least two components: 1) a dedicated or shared processor or a portionthereof; 2) hardware, firmware, and/or software modules executed by theprocessor. A portion of one or more processors can include some portionof hardware less than all of the hardware comprising any given one ormore processors, such as a subset of registers, the portion of theprocessor dedicated to one or more threads of a multi-threadedprocessor, a time slice during which the processor is wholly orpartially dedicated to carrying out part of the engine's functionality,or the like. As such, a first engine and a second engine can have one ormore dedicated processors, or a first engine and a second engine canshare one or more processors with one another or other engines.Depending upon implementation-specific or other considerations, anengine can be centralized or its functionality distributed. An enginecan include hardware, firmware, or software embodied in acomputer-readable medium for execution by the processor. The processortransforms data into new data using implemented data structures andmethods, such as is described with reference to the figures in thispaper.

Engines described in this paper, or the engines through which thesystems and devices described in this paper can be implemented, can becloud-based engines. As used in this paper, a cloud-based engine is anengine that can run applications and/or functionalities using acloud-based computing system. All or portions of the applications and/orfunctionalities can be distributed across multiple computing devices,and need not be restricted to only one computing device. In someembodiments, the cloud-based engines can execute functionalities and/ormodules that end users access through a web browser or containerapplication without having the functionalities and/or modules installedlocally on the end-users' computing devices.

As used in this paper, datastores are intended to include repositorieshaving any applicable organization of data, including tables,comma-separated values (CSV) files, traditional databases (e.g., SQL),or other applicable known or convenient organizational formats.Datastores can be implemented, for example, as software embodied in aphysical computer-readable medium on a general- or specific-purposemachine, in firmware, in hardware, in a combination thereof, or in anapplicable known or convenient device or system. Datastore-associatedcomponents, such as database interfaces, can be considered “part of” adatastore, part of some other system component, or a combinationthereof, though the physical location and other characteristics ofdatastore-associated components is not critical for an understanding ofthe techniques described in this paper.

Datastores can include data structures. As used in this paper, a datastructure is associated with a particular way of storing and organizingdata in a computer so that it can be used efficiently within a givencontext. Data structures are generally based on the ability of acomputer to fetch and store data at any place in its memory, specifiedby an address, a bit string that can be itself stored in memory andmanipulated by the program. Thus, some data structures are based oncomputing the addresses of data items with arithmetic operations; whileother data structures are based on storing addresses of data itemswithin the structure itself. Many data structures use both principles,sometimes combined in non-trivial ways. The implementation of a datastructure usually entails writing a set of procedures that create andmanipulate instances of that structure. The datastores, described inthis paper, can be cloud-based datastores. A cloud based datastore is adatastore that is compatible with cloud-based computing systems andengines.

Assuming a CRM includes a network, the network can be an applicablecommunications network, such as the Internet or an infrastructurenetwork. The term “Internet” as used in this paper refers to a networkof networks that use certain protocols, such as the TCP/IP protocol, andpossibly other protocols, such as the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)for hypertext markup language (HTML) documents that make up the WorldWide Web (“the web”). More generally, a network can include, forexample, a wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN),campus area network (CAN), or local area network (LAN), but the networkcould at least theoretically be of an applicable size or characterizedin some other fashion (e.g., personal area network (PAN) or home areanetwork (HAN), to name a couple of alternatives). Networks can includeenterprise private networks and virtual private networks (collectively,private networks). As the name suggests, private networks are under thecontrol of a single entity. Private networks can include a head officeand optional regional offices (collectively, offices). Many officesenable remote users to connect to the private network offices via someother network, such as the Internet.

Referring once again to the example of FIG. 1, the SLA metric datastore104 is intended to represent a datastore that includes data structuresrepresenting declared performance objectives for software deployments.The SLA metric datastore 104 can include a service level indicator (SLI)data structure. In information technology, an SLI is a measure of aservice level provided by a service provider to a customer. SLIs formthe basis of a service level objective (SLO), which in turn form thebasis of an SLA. The SLA metric datastore 104 can instead or in additioninclude an SLO data structure. As such, as used in this paper, one orboth of an SLI and an SLO can be treated as an SLA metric. Although itis assumed for illustrative purposes that granular SLIs or SLOs areconverted into declarative performance targets, a combination of SLIsand/or SLOs could be formed into an SLA data structure, stored in theSLA metric datastore 104, and converted into an aggregated declarativeperformance target. In a specific implementation, the declaredperformance objectives are on behalf of a service consumer responsible,at least in part, for a software deployment. Service consumers caninclude entities that build, provide, or host software products thatrequire inclusion of one or more services (e.g., compute resources) fordesired function and operation. For example, a service consumer caninclude a company, an organization, an institution, a venture, a group,a person, or some other applicable entity or group of entities.

The feedforward control system for a software orchestration platform 106is intended to represent a system that includes engines and datastoresused for proactive scaling to prepare for predicted load ahead of time,thus mitigating provisioning delay for software deployments. Proactivescaling of applications and application resources enables provisioningof resources to meet future load. In various embodiments, thefeedforward control system for a software orchestration platform 106reduces the cost of running applications by reducing resourceconsumption; improves performance of applications by constantlyresourcing and scaling applications so they can meet performanceobjectives both for current load and for predicted load; allows users tobe confident in the SLOs they have set by having a resourcing andscaling mechanism go out and meet it; and/or reduces the manual time andeffort involved analyzing applications for the purposes of resourcingand scaling them correctly. In a specific implementation, thefeedforward control system for a software orchestration platform 106forecasts both random and regular workloads with up to 90% accuracy;preemptive resourcing results in an average of 10 times less SLAviolations. Preemptive resourcing for an application meansunder-provisioning is at least ameliorated and, ideally, eliminated. Ina specific implementation, the feedforward control system for a softwareorchestration platform 106 can learn from decisions made in order toimprove forecasting, modeling, resource estimation, and other applicabledecisions.

The declarative performance interface engine 108 is intended torepresent an engine used in coordination with a control system typetechnology (described in association with other engines of thefeedforward control system for a software orchestration platform 106) toconsume target performance metrics associated with a software deploymentfrom the SLA metric datastore 104 and provide a declarative performancetarget to the control system type technology to devise an actuationprogram to achieve the target. In a specific implementation, thedeclarative performance interface engine 108 defines references ortargets, the declaration of which can be characterized as a “declarativeperformance” and the definition of which can be characterized as a“declarative performance objective” or a “declarative performancetarget.” The declarative performance interface engine 108 enables ahuman or artificial agent of a service provider (or service consumer) todefine an SLA metric, such as an SLI or an SLO, for storage in the SLAmetric datastore 104 as targets for which the feedforward control systemfor a software orchestration platform 106 resources applications. Bydeclaring performance, human agents are not required to exert effortmanually analyzing their applications, configuring their applications,and resourcing their applications each time a software or applicationload changes; and artificial agents need not be AIs. Advantageously, thedeclarative performance interface engine 108 allows a service providerto rely upon a declared SLO (or an SLO derived from one or more declaredSLIs) for an SLA offered to a service consumer. In a specificimplementation, implementing the declarative performance interfaceengine 108 and control system type technology as described in this paperresulted in an average 70% increase in SLA compliance.

The predictive autoscaling and resource optimization operator engine 110is intended to represent an engine that autoscales in response topredicted resource needs without over-provisioning. Resourceoptimization is intended to mean provisioning the minimum resourcesneeded to meet declared performance objectives. In a specificimplementation, the predictive autoscaling and resource optimizationoperator engine 110 makes changes automatically, recommends more costeffective SLOs, and sends alerts regarding potential performancedegradation. In a specific implementation, the predictive autoscalingand resource optimization operator engine 110 is robust against bothseasonal and random application load and resource signatures by using adeep learning approach sensitive to trends and seasonality, and istrained to be sensitive to leading indicators of random bursts. In aspecific implementation, the predictive autoscaling and resourceoptimization operator engine 110 is easy to install with support forinterchangeable metrics collection and load balancers; is able tooperate on a cloud or on-prem; and can make recommendations in as littleas 5 minutes (in coordination with engines and datastores of thefeedforward control system for a software orchestration platform 106).

In a specific implementation, the predictive autoscaling and resourceoptimization operator engine 110 does not interfere with a Kubernetesscheduler. Kubernetes is an open-source container-orchestration systemfor automating application deployment, scaling, and managementmaintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. It aims to providea “platform for automating deployment, scaling, and operations ofapplication containers across clusters of hosts”. It works with a rangeof container tools, including Docker. Many cloud services offer aKubernetes-based platform or infrastructure as a service (PaaS or IaaS)on which Kubernetes can be deployed as a platform-providing service.Many vendors also provide their own branded Kubernetes distributions.The document entitled “The Kubernetes Architectural Roadmap” by BrianGrant, Tim Hockin, and Clayton Colman, last updated Apr. 20, 2017, isincorporated herein by reference.

In a specific implementation, the predictive autoscaling and resourceoptimization operator engine 110 works well with horizontal and clusterautoscalers. For example, a Kubernetes horizontal pod autoscalerautomatically scales the number of pods in a replication controller,deployment or replicaset based on observed CPU utilization. As anotherexample, Oracle Cloud Platform allows server instances to automaticallyscale a cluster in or out by defining an auto-scaling rule based on CPUand/or memory utilization to determine when to add or remove nodes.

In a specific implementation, the predictive autoscaling and resourceoptimization operator engine 110 receives as input 1) measured outputsfrom the convergent deployment, resource, and application level metricscollection engine 120 and 2) predicted outputs from the application loadforecasting engine 114. In a specific implementation, the predictiveautoscaling and resource optimization operator engine 110 determinesmeasured error from performance objectives, which is provided to thedynamics estimation engine 112.

The dynamics estimation engine 112 is intended to represent an enginethat estimates a minimum amount of resources needed to meet servicelevel objectives under predicted and current load. In a specificimplementation, the dynamics estimation engine 112 models applicationbehavior in terms of resource utilization and models performance as aresponse to load. By modeling an application's response and resourceutilization under load, it becomes possible to enable estimations forvertical and horizontal autoscaling and, based on the modeling, estimatehow many resources will be used under certain load and correspondingservice indicators such as time to process request; a deployment requestis set accordingly.

The application load forecasting engine 114 provides a load estimate outto a future time. Depending upon implementation-specific factors, thefuture time is configurable to be as little as a minute or as much as anhour into the future. In a specific implementation, the application loadforecasting engine 114 provided 91% accurate load forecasting.Advantageously, by predicting incoming application load in advance, itis possible to scale up before load events happen, even across a widevariety of workloads. For example, using a deep learning approach thathas been proven to generalize across a wide variety of workloads, theapplication load forecasting engine 114 can forecast seasonal, trendy,bursty, and random load with a high degree of accuracy (at least 83% oras high as over 95%). Based on a request and an understanding ofworkload, signature limits can be set on a deployment according to autilization pattern (e.g., bursty resulting in a higher limit vs. stableresulting in a lower limit).

The minimum cost optimization engine 116 uses current load, theforecasted load from the application load forecasting engine 114, theapplication behavior model from the dynamics estimation engine 112, anddeclared objectives from the declarative performance interface engine108 to find a minimum cost to run the modeled application at aperformance appropriate for the declared objectives, which is a tradeoffbetween replicas of an application (horizontal scale) and resources(vertical scale). A focus on optimization for performance objectivesresults in cost optimization. Advantageously, in a specificimplementation, this results in an average of up to 80% cost savingscompared to systems without such focus.

The optimal configuration for scale resources actuator engine 118 isintended to represent an actuator that is unique to a problem space. Ina specific implementation, a forecasting model is robust againstdifferent time series profiles because parametric time series modelsare, by their nature, tuned to one type of time series profile. Theseprofiles include on-off workloads, bursty workloads, workloads withvarious trends, and workloads with different seasonality components(seconds, minutes, hours, etc.). This can be accomplished by training amodel off line for forecasting against many different time seriesprofiles; a recurrent neural network can be utilized for this purpose.The off line model is then deployed in the system and the optimalconfiguration for scale resources actuator engine 118 can becharacterized as unique to a problem space associated with one type oftime series profile.

The optimal configuration for scale resources actuator engine 118executes the optimal configuration for scale resources, such as numberof replicas, size of resource requests, and quality of service (asdefined by limits with which to kill or throttle application resourceusage). By understanding an application under load, the number ofreplicas and virtual machine (VM) instance types (in the case of networkand disk bound applications) selected for meeting forecasted demandaccording to performance objectives at minimum cost can be optimized,thus minimizing resources needed to meet forecasted demand.

In a specific implementation, the optimal configuration for scaleresources actuator engine 118 uses heuristics unique to the scaleresource such as maximum allocatable resources and oscillation dampingthrough consensus-based recommendations. The optimal configuration forscale resources actuator engine 118 causes an application to be executedas one of the convergent deployments 122.

The convergent deployment, resource, and application level metricscollection engine 120 is intended to represent an engine that measuresfeedback and feedforward (forecasting) based on current performance andpredicted load. The feedback can come in the form of system output fromthe optimal configuration for scale resources actuator engine 118 or theconvergent deployments 122, or in the form of other data associated withthe relevant convergent deployment of the convergent deployments 122provided through or observed on the CRM 102. The feedback andfeedforward is used by the predictive autoscaling and resourceoptimization operator engine 110 to adjust recommendations. In aspecific implementation, the convergent deployment, resource, andapplication level metrics collection engine 120 monitors performanceindicators and resource usage, including SLIs such as request count andrequest duration, and resource utilization metrics such as memory, CPU,disk I/O, and network I/O per container and pod.

The convergent deployments 122 are intended to represent enginesexecuting applications with a convergent configuration. A convergentconfiguration is one that is executed by the optimal configuration forscale resources actuator engine 118 to incorporate predictiveautoscaling and resource optimization.

The load distribution and metrics engine 124 is intended to represent anengine that designates how application load metrics are collected andconfigured to be distributed. In a specific implementation, the loaddistribution and metrics engine 124 performs load balancing on trafficto (or from) the convergent deployments 122. Load balancing improves thedistribution of workloads across multiple computing resources, such ascomputers, a computer cluster, network links, CPUs, or disk drives. Loadbalancing aims to optimize resource use, maximize throughput, minimizeresponse time, and avoid overload of any single resource. Using multiplecomponents with load balancing instead of a single component mayincrease reliability and availability through redundancy. Load balancingusually involves dedicated software or hardware, such as a multilayerswitch or a Domain Name System server process. Load balancing differsfrom channel bonding in that load balancing divides traffic betweennetwork interfaces on a network socket (OSI model layer 4) basis, whilechannel bonding implies a division of traffic between physicalinterfaces at a lower level, either per packet (OSI model Layer 3) or ona data link (OSI model Layer 2) basis with a protocol such as shortestpath bridging. However, channel bonding is treated as load balancing inthis paper. In an alternative, a proxy takes on the load distributionand metrics functionality in lieu of what would likely be referred to asa “load balancer.”

Where it matters for the purpose of distinction in this paper, “loaddistribution and metrics engine” is a more general term for applicationload metrics collection and configuration for distribution than loadbalancer, proxy, or other applicable specific application loaddistribution and metrics system. Indeed, in a specific implementation,an application load metrics collection and distribution engine is usedwithout a load balancer. For example, the load distribution and metricsengine 124 can collect metrics from and configure an application proxysuch as Envoy, an L7 proxy and communication bus designed for largemodern service oriented architectures. As another example, the loaddistribution and metrics engine 124 can make use of other load systems,such as message queues. In general, the load distribution and metricsengine 124 can be used across different workloads (instead of or inaddition to network-based workloads to which a load balance caters).

The load distribution and metrics engine 124 is informed by the optimalconfiguration for scale resources actuator engine 118 to balance trafficin a manner appropriate for the convergent deployments 122. Theconvergent deployment, resource, and application level metricscollection engine 120 can also collect data from the load distributionand metrics engine 124.

In an example of operation, a human or artificial agent of a serviceprovider (or service consumer) uses the declarative performanceinterface engine 108 to store an SLA metric, such as an SLI or an SLO,in the SLA metric datastore 104. In an alternative, the agent can storean SLA metric in the SLA metric datastore 104 through an SLA metricdatastore interface (not shown). Depending upon what is stored, the SLAmetric datastore 104 could be referred to as an SLI datastore, an SLOdatastore, or an SLA datastore.

Continuing this example of operation, the declarative performanceinterface engine 108 converts the data structures into declarativeperformance objectives for consumption by the predictive autoscaling andresource optimization operator engine 110. When applicable data becomesavailable from the convergent deployment, resource, and applicationlevel metrics collection engine 120, the dynamics estimation engine 112models application behavior in terms of resource utilization and modelsperformance as a response to load, and the application load forecastingengine 114 provides a load estimate out to a future time.

Continuing this example of operation, the minimum cost optimizationengine 116 uses the forecasted load from the application loadforecasting engine 114, the application behavior model from the dynamicsestimation engine 112, and declared objectives from the declarativeperformance interface engine 108, to find a minimum cost to run themodeled application at a performance appropriate for the declaredobjectives. The predictive autoscaling and resource optimizationoperator engine 110 provides the minimum cost optimization parameters tothe optimal configuration for scale resources actuator engine 118, whichexecutes the convergent deployments 122 and configures the loaddistribution and metrics engine 124 in accordance with the minimum costoptimization parameters. In a specific implementation, configuring theload distribution and metrics engine 124 involves making provisionedresources known to the load distribution and metrics engine 124, whichmay occur as a matter of course.

Continuing this example of operation, the convergent deployment,resource, and application level metrics collection engine 120 monitorschannels and other resources associated with the convergent deployments122, which can be processed (to generate, e.g., measured outputs) andprovided as feedback to the predictive autoscaling and resourceoptimization operator engine 110, the dynamics estimation engine 112,and the application load forecasting engine 114. The feedback can beused to provide an initial data set or to improve upon modeling andrecommendations over time.

FIG. 2 depicts a graph 200 that compares resource provisioning pursuantto the recommendations of a reactive recommendation engine with resourceprovisioning pursuant to the recommendations of a predictedrecommendation engine. The graph 200 includes a resource consumptioncurve 202, a predictive provisioning curve 204, a reactive provisioningcurve 206, a performance degradation area 208, and a wasted cost area210. The resource consumption curve 202 is intended to represent amountof resources used (y axis) over time (x axis). The predictiveprovisioning curve 204 is intended to represent resources provisionedpursuant to recommendations of a predictive recommendation engine. Thereactive provisioning curve 206 is intended to represent resourcesallocated pursuant to recommendations of a reactive recommendationengine, as an alternative to a predictive recommendation engine.

As the graph 200 illustrates, the performance degradation area 208 isgreater for the reactive provisioning curve 206 than it is for thepredictive provisioning curve 204. Indeed, the predictive provisioningcurve 204 matches or slightly exceeds the resource consumption curve 202over the measured time period, which means there is no performancedegradation for the system utilizing the predictive recommendationengine. It may be noted, performance degradation occurs when aprovisioning curve is less than the resource consumption curve 202,which means under-provisioning has occurred.

As the graph 200 illustrates, the wasted cost 210 is greater for thereactive provisioning curve 206 than it is for the predictiveprovisioning curve 204. While the predictive provisioning curve 204exceeds the resource consumption curve 202 at most points of the graph200, the amount of wasted cost is substantially less than thatassociated with the reactive provisioning curve 206. A reactiveprovisioning system cannot achieve correct provisioning before 5 minutesof reacting to load because, while there are scale up events before 5minutes (e.g., with a 1-2 minute reaction time), following the curvedownwards is difficult and a reactive algorithm degrades over time. In aspecific implementation, correct provisioning (with provisioninginsurance) takes less than 5 minutes after load. Because a reactiveprovisioning system cannot achieve correct provisioning before itreceives metrics, calculates requests, and actuates those, it isimpossible for a reactive system to act within a minute of load, whichis well within the capabilities of the specific implementation.Advantageously, in this specific implementation, which has a correctlyconfigured predictive system, correct provisioning can be achievedwithin x minutes ahead of load or the resource being required orconsumed, with x being a configurable look ahead time greater than 1minute and less than 1 hour.

Wasted cost occurs when a provisioning curve is more than the resourceconsumption curve 202 plus provisioning insurance. In simplistic terms,wasted cost of less than x % of resource consumption over a minute canbe referred to as provisioning insurance, which is desirable in manyinstances to ensure under-provisioning does not occur. Provisioninginsurance can be defined as the x % likelihood a resource value will beunder a provisioned amount, either as a 95% likelihood as 2 standarddeviations from the mean value and/or a peak-to-mean ratio (crestfactor). In a specific implementation, both of these heuristics areused. The 95% likelihood a resource value will be under a provisionedamount is used for requests (e.g., how many resources to request) whilethe crest factor is used for determining limits (e.g., how manyresources an application is allowed to consume beyond the request beforekilling, throttling, or compressing the resource usage). The differencebetween requests and limits in a software orchestration platform can bereferred to as quality of service (QoS), which defines whether youalways guarantee resources are available (i.e., requests and limits arethe same) or you allow software to burst above its request as necessarywhen resources are available (i.e., limits are above requests).

FIG. 3 is a diagram 300 of a total forecasted load versus total actualload chart 302 and associated code display 304. The total forecastedload versus total actual load chart 302 has an x axis of seconds of atimestamp and a y axis of count per second of load. As can be seen, thepredicted load curve always exceeds the request count curve by arelatively small margin (the provisioning insurance margin). Theassociated code display 304 indicates the resources include limits andrequests, which were described in the preceding paragraph.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart 400 of an example of a method of predictiveautoscaling and resource optimization. The flowchart 400 starts atmodule 402 with converting an SLA metric data structure into adeclarative performance objective. The SLA metric data structure can bestored in an SLA metric datastore, such as the SLA metric datastore 104described in association with FIG. 1. A declarative performanceinterface engine, such as the declarative performance interface engine108 described in association with FIG. 1, can convert the SLA metricdata structure into a declarative performance object.

The flowchart 400 continues to module 404 with estimating a loadforecast out to a future time. For a new deployment, it should be notedthe load forecast may be of limited use because it amounts to littlemore than a guess based upon known data regarding the deployment,without the benefit of feedback related to resource utilization andperformance post-deployment. It typically takes a few minutes to receiveand process such feedback, at which point the load forecast can become amuch more predictive estimate. Accordingly, the module 404 could beskipped as unnecessary until such time as data becomes useful for makingaccurate predictions. An application load forecasting engine, such asthe application load forecasting engine 114 described in associationwith FIG. 1, can estimate a load forecast out to a future time.

The flowchart 400 continues to module 406 with using the load forecastand the declarative performance objective to generate minimum costoptimization parameters. As was noted in the preceding paragraph, theforecast may be of limited use for accurately generating minimum costoptimization parameters. Moreover, although a model estimate could beprovided in lieu of a performance model and an application behaviormodel generated in response to feedback associated with a deployment,such models are of limited value. After receiving feedback, the module406 can also use the performance model and the application behaviormodel to generate minimum cost optimization parameters. (See thedescription associated with the modules 416 and 418 below.) A minimumcost optimization engine, such as the minimum cost optimization engine116 described in association with FIG. 1, can use the load forecast, theperformance model (if applicable), the application behavior model (ifapplicable), and the declarative performance objective to generateminimum cost optimization parameters.

The flowchart 400 continues to module 408 with executing convergentdeployments in accordance with the minimum cost optimization parameters.An optimal configuration for scale resources actuator engine, such asthe optimal configuration for scale resources actuator engine 118described in association with FIG. 1, can execute convergent deploymentsin accordance with the minimum cost optimization parameters.

The flowchart 400 continues in parallel to module 410 with configuring aload distribution and metrics engine in accordance with the minimum costoptimization parameters. Although any applicable module can beconfigured for parallel execution with another, the modules 408 and 410are relatively likely to be carried out in parallel, so the illustrationis made rather explicit. Of course, the modules could be rearranged forserial processing. An optimal configuration for scale resources actuatorengine, such as the optimal configuration for scale resources actuatorengine 118 described in association with FIG. 1, can configure a loaddistribution and metrics engine in accordance with the minimum costoptimization parameters.

Following modules 408 and 410, the flowchart 400 continues to module 412with monitoring resources associated with the convergent deployments. Aconvergent deployment and resource metrics collection engine, such asthe convergent deployment, resource, and application level metricscollection engine 120 described in association with FIG. 1, can monitorresources (including channels) associated with the convergentdeployments.

The flowchart 400 continues to module 414 with providing feedbackassociated with the convergent deployments. A convergent deployment andresource metrics collection engine, such as the convergent deployment,resource, and application level metrics collection engine 120 describedin association with FIG. 1, can provide feedback associated with theconvergent deployments.

The flowchart 400 returns to module 404 and continues as describedpreviously and also (in parallel) continues to module 416 with modelingapplication behavior in terms of resource utilization. In a specificimplementation, the modeling of application behavior requires a combinedtotal of up to approximately 5 minutes to receive, process, and performmachine learning on feedback from module 414. Accordingly, in thisdescription of the example of FIG. 4, the module 416 does is notintroduced as quickly as module 404, though a model “stand-in” could beused. Moreover, the flowchart 400 could loop multiple times throughother modules before module 416 completes. A dynamics estimation engine,such as the dynamics estimation engine 112 described in association withFIG. 1, can model application behavior in terms of resource utilization.From module 416, the flowchart 400 returns to module 406 and continuesas described previously.

The flowchart 400 also continues to module 418 from module 414 withmodeling performance as a response to load. In a specificimplementation, the modeling of application behavior requires a combinedtotal of up to approximately 5 minutes to receive, process, and performmachine learning on feedback from module 414. Accordingly, in thisdescription of the example of FIG. 4, the module 418 does is notintroduced as quickly as module 404, though a model “stand-in” could beused. Moreover, the flowchart 400 could loop multiple times throughother modules before module 418 completes. A dynamics estimation engine,such as the dynamics estimation engine 112 described in association withFIG. 1, can model performance as a response to load. From module 418,the flowchart 400 returns to module 406 and continues as describedpreviously.

It may be noted that the modules 404, 416, and 418 can be processed inparallel, though one or more of the modules can, for practical purposes,be skipped in a second loop from module 414 to module 404, 416, andmodule 418 if no updates to a model or forecast are made relative to themodel or forecast from a first loop. Of course, the modules 404, 416,and 418 could also be rearranged for serial processing. It may also benoted the modules 404, 416, and 418 could conceivably come before themodule 402 if a deployment is made without SLA metric data, which isprovided later in the process. Finally, it may be noted that the module402 could be repeated if declarative performance objectives change (notshown).

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart 500 of an example of generating predictiveautoscaling and resource optimization results in association with amachine learning process. The flowchart 500 starts at module 502 withmonitoring performance indicators and resource usage. A human orartificial agent of a service provider (or service consumer) can providenew performance indicators following, for example, a review ofconvergent deployment performance. A declarative performance interfaceengine, such as the declarative performance interface engine 108described in association with FIG. 1, can monitor performanceindicators. A convergent deployment and resource metrics collectionengine, such as the convergent deployment, resource, and applicationlevel metrics collection engine 120 described in association with FIG.1, can monitor resource usage.

The flowchart 500 continues to module 504 with forecasting applicationload and seasonality. Seasonality can be illustrated in association witha use case, which is, in this example, a shoe company e-commercedeployment. Successful shoe company e-commerce deployments typicallyhave stable traffic with some seasonality at Black Friday and during theholidays, plus some seemingly random spikes (e.g., when new shoes arereleased). Because of the importance of performance on revenue duringthese events, reactive autoscaling is suboptimal at these times. Systemsengineers will manually over-provision so SLOs are met. A predictiveautoscaling and resource optimization system, as described in thispaper, is able to learn these seasonalities and provision a correctamount of resources (with provisioning insurance) for these eventswithout manual intervention. Moreover, during the year, new shoes arereleased and system engineers are often unprepared for the massive loadduring the release. By the time they scale up reactively to meet demand,the shoe is selling on eBay for 10× the price. A predictive autoscalingand resource optimization system, as described in this paper, is able topredict these seemingly random spikes in traffic and scale accordinglyso SLOs are met, and maximum revenue and customer satisfaction areachieved. Advantageously, money is not wasted on over-provisioning justto be prepared for these events. An application load forecasting engine,such as the application load forecasting engine 114 described inassociation with FIG. 1, can forecast application load and seasonality.

The flowchart 500 continues to module 506 with learning a behaviorfunction of an application under load. A dynamics estimation engine,such as the dynamics estimation engine 112 described in association withFIG. 1, can learn a behavior function of an application under load.

The flowchart 500 continues to module 508 with estimating resources usedat forecasted demand for resource requests. An application loadforecasting engine, such as the application load forecasting engine 114described in association with FIG. 1, can estimate resources used atforecasted demand for resource requests.

The flowchart 500 continues to module 510 with estimating a forecastpattern for setting resource limits. An application load forecastingengine, such as the application load forecasting engine 114 described inassociation with FIG. 1, can estimate a forecast pattern for settingresource limits.

The flowchart 500 continues to module 512 with minimizing resourcesneeded to meet the forecasted demand. A minimum cost optimizationengine, such as the minimum cost optimization engine 116 described inassociation with FIG. 1, can minimize resources needed to meet theforecasted demand.

The flowchart 500 ends at module 514 with learning from decisions madein order to improve forecasting and resource estimation. An optimalconfiguration for scale resources actuator engine, such as the optimalconfiguration for scale resources actuator engine 118 described inassociation with FIG. 1, can benefit in convergent deployment fromlearning from decisions made in order to improve forecasting andresource estimation.

FIG. 6 depicts a diagram 600 of an example of a system for generatingminimum cost optimization parameters. The diagram 600 includes an SLAmetrics datastore 604, which may be implemented as the SLA metricsdatastore 104 described in association with FIG. 1; a declarativeperformance interface engine 608 coupled to the SLA metric datastore 604and which may be implemented as the declarative performance interfaceengine 108 described in association with FIG. 1; a dynamics estimationengine 612, which may be implemented as the dynamics estimation engine112 described in association with FIG. 1; an application loadforecasting engine 614, which may be implemented as the application loadforecasting engine 114 described in association with FIG. 1; a minimumcost optimization engine 616, which may be implemented as the minimumcost optimization engine 116 described in association with FIG. 1; adeclarative performance datastore 626 coupled to the declarativeperformance interface engine 608 and the minimum cost optimizationengine 616; a behavior model datastore 628 coupled to the dynamicsestimation engine 612 and the minimum cost optimization engine 616; aperformance model datastore 630 coupled to the dynamics estimationengine 612 and the minimum cost optimization engine 616; a convergentdeployment and resource metrics datastore 632 coupled to the dynamicsestimation engine 612 and the application load forecasting engine 614; autilization pattern learning engine 634 coupled to the convergentdeployment and resource metric datastore 632; a forecasting modeldatastore 636 coupled to the application load forecasting engine 614 andthe utilization pattern learning engine 634; a forecasted load datastore638 coupled to the application load forecasting engine 614 and theminimum cost optimization engine 616; and a minimum cost optimizationparameters datastore 640 coupled to the minimum cost optimization engine616.

The declarative performance interface engine 608 converts SLA metricsfrom the SLA metric datastore 604 to declarative performance datastructures represented by the declarative performance datastore 626. Thedeclarative performance interface engine 608 may or may not receiveinstructions from a human or artificial agent of a service provider (orservice consumer) to populate the SLA metric datastore 604. If the SLAmetric datastore 604 is modified, the declarative performance engine 608converts the modification so as to match an intended SLO represented inthe SLA metric datastore 604 with a declarative performance datastructure in the declarative performance datastore 626.

The dynamics estimation engine 608 uses machine learning techniques,such as deep learning, to generate a behavior model, which isrepresented by the behavior model datastore 628 and to generate aperformance model, which is represented by the performance modeldatastore 630. The models can be improved with feedback associated withapplicable convergent deployments. Such feedback is represented by theconvergent deployment and resource metrics datastore 632. The convergentdeployment and resource metric datastore 632 can be populated by aconvergent deployment and resource metrics collection engine (notshown), which may be implemented as the convergent deployment, resource,and application level metrics collection engine 120 described inassociation with FIG. 1.

The utilization pattern learning engine 634 uses deep learning tounderstand workload to generate models for seasonal load, trendy load,bursty load, and random load. Based on a request and an understanding ofworkload, signature limits can be set on a deployment according to autilization pattern (e.g., bursty resulting in a higher limit vs. stableresulting in a lower limit). The result of the deep learning is aforecasting model represented by the forecasting model datastore 636.The forecasting model datastore 636 can be improved with feedbackassociated with applicable convergent deployments. Such feedback isrepresented by the convergent deployment and resource metrics datastore632.

The application load forecasting engine 614 uses one or more forecastingmodels from the forecasting model datastore 636 and feedback from theconvergent deployment and resource metrics datastore 632 to estimateresource usage at a future time; this forecasted load is represented bythe forecasted load datastore 638.

The minimum cost optimization engine 616 uses the declarativeperformance datastore 626, the behavior model datastore 628, theperformance model datastore 630, and the forecasted load datastore 638to generate minimum cost optimization parameters, which are representedby the minimum cost optimization parameters datastore 640. The minimumcost optimization parameters can be used by a software deploymentplatform that can include, for example, an optimal configuration forscale resources actuator engine (not shown), which may be implemented asthe optimal configuration for scale resources actuator engine 118described in association with FIG. 1.

1. A system comprising: a declarative performance interface engineconfigured to: receive service level agreement (SLA) metrics; convertthe SLA metrics to declarative performance data structures, the datastructures representing declared performance objectives for softwaredeployment; monitor performance indicators of deployed software; aconvergent deployment, resource, and application level metricscollection engine configured to monitor resource usage of deployedsoftware; a dynamics estimation engine configured to generate anapplication behavior model, the application behavior model based onperformance indicators and resource usage as a function of load; anapplication load forecasting engine configured to forecast load at afuture time; a minimum cost optimization engine configured to generateminimum cost optimization parameters based on the declarativeperformance data structures, the application behavior model, and theforecasted load; a predictive autoscaling and resource optimizationoperator engine configured to provide the minimum cost optimizationparameters to an optimal configuration for scale resources actuatorengine; the optimal configuration for scale resources actuator engineconfigured to execute convergent deployments; a load distribution andmetrics engine configured to perform load balancing on one or more oftraffic to the convergent deployments and traffic from the convergentdeployments, the load distribution and metrics engine being configuredby the optimal configuration for scale resources actuator engine inaccordance with the minimum cost optimization parameters; the convergentdeployment, resource, and application level metrics collection enginefurther configured to: monitor resources associated with the convergentdeployments; provide feedback associated with the convergent deploymentsto the dynamics estimation engine; the dynamics estimation enginefurther configured to generate an updated application behavior modelbased on the feedback.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the SLA metricscomprise one or more of service level indicator (SLI) metrics andservice level objective (SLO) metrics.
 3. The system of claim 1, whereinthe SLA metrics are defined by a human agent.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the SLA metrics are defined by an artificial agent.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the performance indicators comprise one ormore of request count and request duration.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the resource usage comprises usage of one or more of memory, CPUpower, disk I/O, and network I/O.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein theapplication load forecasting engine is configured to forecast one ormore of seasonal load, trendy load, bursty load, and random load.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the application load forecasting engine isconfigured to estimate a forecast pattern for use in setting resourcelimits.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the dynamics estimation enginegenerates the application behavior model using deep learning.
 10. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a predictive autoscaling andresource optimization operator engine configured to determine measurederror from the declared performance objectives.
 11. A method comprising:receiving service level agreement (SLA) metrics; converting the SLAmetrics to declarative performance data structures, the data structuresrepresenting declared performance objectives for software deployment;monitoring performance indicators and resource usage of deployedsoftware; generating an application behavior model based on performanceindicators and resource usage as a function of load; forecasting load ata future time; generating minimum cost optimization parameters based onthe declarative performance data structures, the application behaviormodel, and the forecasted load; executing convergent deployments;performing load balancing on one or more of traffic to the convergentdeployments and traffic from the convergent deployments in accordancewith the minimum cost optimization parameters; monitoring resourcesassociated with the convergent deployments; providing feedbackassociated with the convergent deployments; generating an updatedapplication behavior model based on the feedback.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the SLA metrics comprise one or more of service levelindicator (SLI) metrics and service level objective (SLO) metrics. 13.The method of claim 11, wherein the SLA metrics are defined by anartificial agent.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the performanceindicators comprise one or more of request count and request duration.15. The method of claim 11, wherein the resource usage comprises usageof one or more of memory, CPU power, disk I/O, and network I/O.
 16. Themethod of claim 11, wherein the forecasted load comprises one or more ofseasonal load, trendy load, bursty load, and random load.
 17. The methodof claim 11, further comprising estimate a forecast pattern for use insetting resource limits.
 18. The method of claim 11, wherein theapplication behavior model is generated using deep learning.
 19. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising determining measured error fromthe declared performance objectives.
 20. A system comprising: means forreceiving service level agreement (SLA) metrics; means for convertingthe SLA metrics to declarative performance data structures, the datastructures representing declared performance objectives for softwaredeployment; means for monitoring performance indicators and resourceusage of deployed software; means for generating an application behaviormodel based on performance indicators and resource usage as a functionof load; means for forecasting load at a future time; means forgenerating minimum cost optimization parameters based on the declarativeperformance data structures, the application behavior model, and theforecasted load; means for executing convergent deployments; means forperforming load balancing on one or more of traffic to the convergentdeployments and traffic from the convergent deployments in accordancewith the minimum cost optimization parameters; means for monitoringresources associated with the convergent deployments; means forproviding feedback associated with the convergent deployments; means forgenerating an updated application behavior model based on the feedback.